Sunday, May 29, 2016

Nailed It! The Art of Pinspiration

Bird's Eye View

Have you ever wanted to draw, but had no idea where to begin? This sort of creative block seems fairly universal to most any creative avenue (writing, painting, cooking, you name it), and one of my favorite ways out of this rut is to step back and do a little R&D. When it comes to art, for me that means working from a reference. This not only gives your creative brain a break while still flexing the muscles, but also gives you a chance to study up, refine your skills and experiment with new styles. Where can one find references like this, you ask? Pinterest, of course!

Hey, fancy ladies!

These fancy ladies were inspired by this Fashion Photo which struck me as soon as I saw it. I referenced the clothes, hair and postures of the ladies, but gave them to a few of my own characters instead. (If I really wanted to maximize the learning experience, I should have gone after that background, too, but... maybe next time!)

Women's Fashion Sketches

These sets of sketches are based off pins curated by Pinterest's Men's and Women's Fashion categories. As you can see, photos of people are great examples of how clothes hang, fit, etc. on a body, as well as a person's stance, weight, expression and so on. As usual, I took all of the above and gave them to my original characters to add a little of my own style and fun.

Men's Fashion Sketches

Along with photo references, I've also recently delved into my Art board for inspiration. For this study, I picked out a few pieces with a slightly abstract, colorful style I seem to be drawn to. I didn't have my watercolors handy, but I did have a nice set of very inky markers I wanted to test out, so it worked out rather well.

Color Study x3!

I based these exercises in color on these awesome pins: Horse, Face and Bird. Of my own renditions, the bird is by far my favorite, partially because it turned out so well and also because I like the original so much (it's the cover of my Art board!). In my opinion, the face turned out pretty well, too, and the horse is... okay. And you know what? Okay is okay because this is practice. Phew! It's amazing what a little grace can do for the creative process!

Face & Bird... Take 2!

These two pieces are based on Face Profile and Bird Profile, because apparently I'm fascinated by faces and birds! Once again, the originals were watercolors and my renditions were done with marker, but perhaps I will bust out my watercolors to practice those awesome effects soon. In the meantime, to see how fashion advertisements and costume catalogs can also be handy (and hilarious) references, check out my Guess Who: From Catalog to Coloring Book and Halloween Costume Art blogs!